So, as you may or may not know, Deus Ex: Human Revolution came out today in the US. And since I was mad hyped for this game, I went out and bought it, and have played a couple hours. Here's my thoughts:
Presentation
Not to use cliched video-game terms, but this is kind of a mixed bag. The art direction is pretty awesome, and the world seems really well realized. But, the graphics don't always hold up. Specifically, I'm talking about the facial animations. They're pretty bad. So are the, "Hey, I'm talking so I'm going to waive my arms around" animations that people often go through when speaking to them. It definitely ruins some of the immersion that the rest of the game tries so hard to create. Also, the game has a good number of pre-rendered cut-scenes, and they don't look that good. I feel like they were not compressed well, or something. I dunno, I'm not an expert on things of that nature, but I can tell you that they don't look great. But, as stated above, when not talking to dudes, the presentation is pretty great, aside from an iffy framerate some of the time.I also think the voice acting in the game is pretty good overall. I especially like the super gruff Adam Jensen (the dude you play as, if you didn't know). Of course, if you're not into guys with Solid Snake style gravelly-ass voices (though I don't think he's as well voiced as Snake), then you'd probably disagree with me.
Gameplay
This is the point where I tell you that I've never played a Deus Ex game before, so I can't really say how this compares to the original. I can, however, confidently say that I really enjoy playing this game. It's a split between "action stages" that involve completing various objectives, but usually with numerous paths to get there. Now, the best way to get through most of this stuff is in a stealthy fashion, as Jensen may be more machine than man (well, not sure, I dunno), but he can't survive gunfire for long. Of course, aside from risking death, there's not really any penalty (at least not yet) for messing up the stealth, which I think is cool. Knowing that I can just kill my way out of a situation is cool.But, as of this writing, I've gotten through without killing anyone. Not without alerting enemies, mind you, but without killing anyone. I don't think that'll last though, because I've upgraded my pistol to have a silencer and have better armor piercing ability, so I'm not going to let that go to waste. But I'm not going to start killing dudes because I feel like the various NPCs could start treating Jensen differently if it was known that he killed people. For example, since I got through the first mission without killing anyone, people have been treating him like a hero. I don't know how they would react had I just murdered my way through that mission, but the fact that the game has drawn me into its world enough to make me want to not kill people is a pretty good accomplishment. Especially since the game doesn't even have a morality meter or anything.
Also, I really like the hacking mini-game. And I usually am not a fan of hacking mini-games, because they're usually either crazy simple (cough, Mass Effect 1, cough), or dumb/nonsensical (cough, BioShock 1, cough). This one feels like it actually has something to do with breaking into a security system, and it's challenging enough to be engaging, but simple enough to be easy to get into.
It starts with Jensen in control of a node on a "map" of interconnected nodes. The goal is to get to a specific node (or nodes) on the other side of the map. There are also often bonus nodes that will give XP bonuses, or free viruses (because you can use viruses to aid your attack, but they're limited in number). However, every time you capture a node, there's a chance that the system might notice what you're doing (and this chance can be reduced with upgrades). If the system does notice, then it starts trying to take over nodes and make it to Jensen's starting nodes. Then it turns into a mad dash to try and get to the end before the system gets to you (there's a handy timer that shows how long it'll take). It's fun, engaging, and it feels like it makes sense in the context of the world.
Speaking of upgrades, since Jensen is pretty much a private sector RoboCop (he even lives in Detroit), he can upgrade his various robo-abilities throughout the game. And there's a lot of stuff that can be upgraded. Everything from the aforementioned improvements to hacking, to the ability to not have fall damage, to more inventory space, to having Batman vision, and even turning invisible. There's a lot of stuff, and it's hard to pick at the beginning of the game, because almost all of it seems super useful. Should I get the ability to hack level three systems, or the super jump ability? So many decisions! A lot of them are in upgrade trees though, so you can't just get anything at first, especially since a lot of the cooler stuff takes more than one Praxis point.
Speaking of which, even though the game is definitely an RPG (what with getting XP from all sorts of stuff, and all the talking to dudes), it doesn't actually involve leveling up. Once you get enough XP, Jensen gets another Praxis point, which can be used to get an upgrade. Or, if you're rolling in cash, you can buy upgrade kits and get Praxis points that way (or, if you're lucky, you can find them in the environment). But again, no leveling up. Functionally it's pretty much the same, but I think it'd still be cool if every once in a while "LEVEL UP!" appeared on screen, and if there was a number associated with it so I could say things like, "Yo, I have a level 5 Jensen." Not a big issue though.
The health system in the game is similarly odd. It regenerates up to 100, but it goes up to 200 via the use of health-up items (mainly booze). But that stuff won't regenerate. It kinda reminds me of older FPS's like the Serious Sam games, only it doesn't tick back down to 100 (which I want to say happened in Serious Sam, I know it was in some game(s) back then).
And then there's the take-down system. See, Jensen can knockout (or kill, if you're into that) anyone with the press (or press and hold) of a button. However, in order to balance what could have been an over-powered skill, using it takes a bar of Jensen's power meter (which starts at two, and, like everything else, can be upgraded). And the meter will only recharge one bar without using a bar-filling item. So it's not something that can be used to clear a room filled with dudes, it's mainly used to just take down one guy, or in an emergency. I think it works well, and the animations are cool. But it seems a little off when it switches from first person to third person to do them. The delay is just a tad too long.
...
Man, I wrote a lot about this game. And I could write more. All I'll say now is that I think this game is pretty rad, and that it's a great combination of a lot of things that I love (stealth, upgrading stuff, "grid-ventory," dialog trees, talking to dudes, getting side quests, Detroit, Blade Runner looking stuff, Canadian accents, etc.), and that I am having a blast. I cannot wait to play more. Which is a lie, because I'm feeling kinda tired today since I did some paving with my dad this morning (this game was my payment), so I'm going to hit the hay soon.
But I love this game. Expect it to win some stuff at my end of year awards (The Moosies) later this year. Even if I have to make up an award specially tailored for it.
But what do YOU, the average internet person, think? Love it? Hate it? Too in love with the original to like this one? Sound off below! Just keep it spoiler free. I don't want anything spoiled for me (or my "faithful" readers).
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